


You Deserve the World (But I Can Only Offer Myself)

by ajaybird



Category: Dead Poets Society (1989)
Genre: I'm Bad At Tagging, Multi, Protective Jeff, father figure mr.keating, i have a lot of feelings about the dead poets, mr. nolan sucks, neglected todd, the anderson parents suck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:26:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24096553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ajaybird/pseuds/ajaybird
Summary: Todd is neglected by his parents, but a surprise visit from Jeff gives him a better summer than he could have hoped for. Maybe finishing his highschool career at Welton won't be so bad either. Falling in love, dealing with a love-sick older brother, and friends' relationships wasn't in any syllabus though. The Dead Poets will survive their senior year no matter what the universe throws their way.This is my first fanfiction, so please let me know if there are any mistakes that I can fix. I know that Jeff and Mr. Keating are probably never shipped, but I figured "why not". I hope you like this. :)
Relationships: Charlie Dalton/Steven Meeks, Chris Noel/ Ginny Danbury, Chris Noel/Knox Overstreet, Ginny Danbury/Chris Noel/Knox Overstreet, John Keating/ Jeff Anderson, Todd Anderson/Neil Perry
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	You Deserve the World (But I Can Only Offer Myself)

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry that everyone is very out of character. Oops.

Jeffery Anderson

I hadn’t told my parents that I was coming home for the week, but it was the second week of summer vacation for Todd and I hate leaving him alone. The house that our parents bought was in the middle of a neighborhood that had absolutely no other children. It was bad enough when we only had each other to play with, but then our parents shipped me off to Welton Academy for high school and I’ve only seen Todd sporadically since then. 

It’s a lonely neighborhood and I’m just glad that my boss gave all of us employees the week off. Well, the office had a pretty bad water pipe breakage and we can’t get any work done until our office is repaired. 

There’s only one car in the driveway as I pull in, but hopefully Todd will help me sneak into the house to surprise our parents. I walk around the house and slide open the screen door of the library. 

“Todd!” I whisper hoping that he’s in the library and I won't have to go searching for him and ruining the surprise. 

“Jeff? Is that you? W-what are you doing here?” Todd pokes his head around the history shelf looking thoroughly confused. “Mom and Dad didn’t say that you were coming home-”

“That’s because it’s a surprise! Will you help me bake a cake or something when they get home?” 

Todd doesn’t look confused anymore, instead he looks kind of ashamed. 

“I don’t know when they’re going to be home…”

“Well that’s alright, cakes take a long time to bake. We’ll probably be able to finish all the frosting and decorating by the time they get back tonight. Why don't you grab one of the cook books and I’ll look in the kitchen and see if we have enough eggs.”

“Jeff wait!”

I stride into the kitchen and over to the fridge as I try to remember all of the ingredients that might go into a cake. “Todd, should we make a vanilla cake or a chocolate-” 

The fridge is almost barren. There’s a pathetic array of condiments on the shelves of the door, but there isn't enough food to make a proper meal even for one person. This doesn’t make sense, our parents have more than enough money to keep the fridge stocked. I turn and see Todd in the doorway with watery eyes. 

“Why isn't there any food?” I just can't wrap my head around the fact that Todd has been alone in our parents’ house and there’s not a scrap of food in sight. 

Todd just shrugs his shoulders. “I-I don’t know when they’re going to be home.”

“Well where are they? Did they just go on vacation without you? What happened?” He really looks like he’s about to cry. I know that we don't have the best parents but I didn’t think that they would just leave their son alone in a house with no food. “Never mind. When’s the last time you ate?”

There’s an uncomfortably long pause before Todd replies, “Yesterday.”

“What did you eat?” Whatever it was, it couldn’t have been enough.

“Um, just some p-pasta.”

“Jesus Christ. Okay, let’s go. You need to eat something.” I check my watch. There’s a diner that should be open at two fourteen in the next town over. 

“I’m fine Jeff, really. Please don't waste your money on me. It’s fine.”

“Waste my money? Jesus Todd what the hell happened?” This is definitely not the brother that I knew. Yeah, he was only ten when I left for Welton, but this is too drastic of a change. Our parents messed him up. 

He does start crying now, tears stream down his face and soak the collar of his baggy t-shirt. It’s heartbreaking to watch him try to make himself stop, hiccuping and wiping furiously at his cheeks. “I guess they j-just always loved you more,” he says with a watery smile that looks like it hurts him just as much as it hurts me. 

Looking back on our childhood, there are so many times that our parents shoved Todd into the shadows and dragged me into the spotlight. 

“Todd...I’m so sorry.” he wipes under his eyes as some tears escape.

“It’s not your fault. Really, I’m fine.” There are many things my little brother is good at, but lying isn’t one of them.

“Please, Todd, tell me the truth. What happened when I was gone.” 

He launches into a story that’s periodically interrupted by hiccups and brief periods of silence when what he says gets more and more heavy.

When he’s done filling me in on all the horrible shit that our parents put him through I decide that I can’t let him live in their house anymore. I’ll have him pack a bag after I get him to eat. 

“Jesus. Okay. Let’s go get some food now, yeah?” He nods his head shakily and leaves to put on shoes. This wasn’t at all the homecoming meal that I had expected, but in all honesty, I could go my entire life without eating with my parents ever again.

Todd Anderson

I really hope that Jeff doesn’t try to bring up our parents at the diner. It was bad enough telling him how they acted like I didn’t exist in the house, but I can’t stand the thought of having to address the problem in public. 

Thankfully he doesn’t say anything in the car, and we make it halfway through our plates of food before he brings up school. 

“Todd, I know you probably don’t want to talk about this right now, but I think we need to talk about your senior year. Where were you going to go to school?”

Fuck. I do not want to talk about this right now. “Mom and Dad enrolled me in Welton Academy.” Welton is supposed to be their last ditch attempt to make me more like Jeff. I really don’t know why they haven’t given up on me being like him yet. 

Jeff rubs his mouth and lets out a long sigh. “Okay, we can work with that. I live pretty close to Welton so I could convince our parents to let me keep you for the summer. It won’t be that hard if I just tell them it’s some sort of way to get you used to not living at home for the school year or some shit. I’m not taking too many courses this year for college, so I’ll be able to get to Welton whenever you need me. Please call if you need me. Seriously, Todd. I know that our parents are shit, but I promise I won’t be. Welton isn’t that bad.”

I don’t know whether or not to believe Jeff. All I can remember about Welton is the creepy architecture and mean looking teachers. I’m willing to put those memories behind me because I was only ten when I saw it. “Okay, Jeff, I believe you and I’ll call if I need anything. But won’t our parents want to drop me off to protect their image?”

“Shit. I hadn’t thought of that… What if I come with them! I could introduce you to the teachers, give you a tour, and then show you to your dorm room! They don’t like crowded hallways, right?”

“Yeah, they hate them…”

“Then the plan is perfect! C’mon, let’s go pack up your stuff. I have a guest room open.” 

For Jeff’s graduation present our parents had given him an entire house. Jeff rented it out to other college students and tourists year round. I thought he was super cool for having his own house when I was fourteen, but then I realized that it was just another example of how much more our parents cared about him. (I still think that he’s really cool for having his own house.)

July and August were blurs. Jeff got me an iPhone 7 to replace my iPhone 5 and texted me whenever he could when he was at work. He spent a lot of time at work, but unlike our parents, when he got home he would make dinner with me and we would eat it while watching TV or a movie. He would FaceTime me during his lunch breaks to make sure that I was eating and to just hang out. The weekends were the best. 

Jeff would take me out for picnics, to the beach, to the movies, to museums, and even took me to bookstores where we would spend the entire day flipping through books and reading strange chapters to each other. Sometimes he would extend invitations to our excursions to the other people in the house. 

I liked the college boys, they were nice and didn’t ask a lot of questions about who I was or why I was suddenly living with my brother. The tourists were annoying, but I could usually avoid them by staying in my room or walking to the library. 

My parents hadn’t put up any fight when Jeff asked to take me for the summer. It stung, but I was glad that I was able to live with Jeff. 

Too soon summer was over, and I had to start getting ready to go to Welton. My parents dropped off my uniform, books, and a desk set. I wasn’t too excited about having to wear the stuffy uniform, but Jeff said that I would be able to wear casual clothes during the weekend or on days that I don't have classes. 

It was a beautiful day for the opening ceremony for Welton, not a cloud in the sky and a nice breeze flowing through the trees surrounding the school. I don't pay attention to what the men at the podium are saying, but as I look around, it doesn’t seem like any of the other boys are either. Jeff keeps tapping his fingers on his knees and sighing. Eventually the speeches are done and my parents drag me over to the group of teachers in the courtyard. 

“Mr. Nolan! Hello!” my father practically shouts. “You remember Jeff, right?”

“Of course! How are you doing Mr. Anderson?”

“I’m doing fine, thanks. This is my younger brother, Todd. He’ll be joining the class of 2017.” Jeff gently pushes me forward to shake Mr. Nolan’s hand.

“Hello, sir. I’m T-Todd Anderson.”

Mr. Nolan doesn’t look pleased with my stutter, and turns right back to my father to talk about how wonderful Jeff was in his classes. 

Jeff and I sneak out of the courtyard and into an outdoor hallway made of stone. We almost make it to the door of the dormitory before someone calls out Jeff’s name.

“Jeff? Jeff Anderson? Is that you?” Jeff turns around and his jaw drops.

“Johnny? What are you doing here?”

“I’m the new English teacher. Who’s this?”

This is way too much for me. I just want to unpack my bags. “I’m his younger b-b-brother, T-Todd.”

“Nice to meet you, Todd. I’m Mr. Keating. Hopefully you’re better than your brother in English, he made me help him study when we went to school together.”

This is definitely news to me. Jeff has never had trouble with any subject. I raise an eyebrow at him and he blushes. “I can’t make any p-p-p-p-” I take a deep breath and try again, thankful that neither of them has tried to finish my sentence. “I’ll t-try.”

Mr. Keating smiles at the both of us and Jeff’s blush bleeds into the tips of his ears. “Nice talking to you, John, but I’ve really got to show Todd to his room now.”

“Hold on, Jeff.” Mr. Keating reaches into his pocket and brings out a piece of paper and a pen. “I want to give you my number so we can stay in touch.” Jeff is speechless but still takes the slip of paper that he’s given. 

I tug on Jeff’s sleeve and he smiles awkwardly at Mr. Keating. “I’ll be sure to call,” he spins and we go into the dormitory. 

“Johnny? How come you never t-told me about him, hmm? You seem like you really like him.”

Jeff looks uncomfortable, so I quickly try to explain.

“I-I mean, it’s fine if y-you do, it’s just that he- well, he’s my English teacher, and it’d be strange to go to class knowing that you like him is all.”

He laughs and ruffles my hair. “Sorry, Todd. You’re gonna have to deal with it.” He’s smiling as he says, “I might even invite him to Christmas dinner.”

“Is it going to be at your house?” I really want it to be.

“Of course! He could stay the night then.”

“Jeff!” He laughs as we make our way up the stairs to the senior dorms. “Really, though, I’m fine with it. Our parents are the only p-people that you’ll have to worry about.”

“Yeah, but at least you’ll be eighteen soon and you can live with me until you decide that I’m too annoying to deal with.”

We arrive at the senior hall and I feel faint. There are so many boys yelling to each other and racing up and down the hall. Jeff puts his hand on my shoulder and guides me to a modest room that already has my bags at the foot of one of the two beds. 

“Well, Todd, this is where your Welton life begins.” Jeff pats my back, “It’s not as scary as it first seems. I think you might actually have a lot of fun here. And, Todd…” he has a smirk on his face and I brace myself for whatever he’s about to say. “...put in a good word about me to John, huh?”

I push him out of the room, saying my goodbyes and making absolutely no promises to hook him up with my English teacher. 

After I take my bags off what is probably my bed, I flop down on it and let out a long sigh. Welton seems like it is going to be better than Balincrest already, but I miss my friends. Maybe I will have fun like Jeff suggested. 

I can feel myself start to get sleepy, blinking slowly at the ceiling. There’s a window on the wall above my head, and I listen to the rustling leaves of the tree outside. I think I like this room. It’s nice and quiet and calm. Maybe it’s not such a bad idea to take a nap before they serve dinner. It’s not like I have any homework to do.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll write more when I'm able to.


End file.
